The top Meadowlark topics for 2008 were all about political money and governmental ethics. The following is a topic summary with details given below.
1. New reports for last minute political money can make a difference.
2. More transparency is needed in Kansas governmental ethics.
3. Why is franking abuse ignored?
4. Why do political appointments often correlate [...]
Continue reading about Political Money & Ethics were Top Meadowlark Topics in 2008
Local Kansas City area fiscal policy activist, Philip Klein, has been a critic for years of eminent domain abuse in the Kansas City area. Klein was so motivated to act on this issue that he became the producer/director of a video “Begging for Billionaires: The Attack on Property Rights in America.”
Klein’s video tries to [...]
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The Kansas Governmental Ethics Commission met yesterday to review several matters, including six fines and three advisory opinions.
Continue reading about Fines and other actions by the Ethics Commission at their December meeting
One can ask hypothetical questions and get guidance about Kansas Law and ethics rules from the Kansas Governmental Ethics Commission, but once specific information about any wrongdoing is provided to the Commission, there is no way to find what action, if any, the Commission takes. Kansans need more transparency in the operation of the Commission.
At [...]
Governor Kathleen Sebelius will pick a replacement Kansas Supreme Court justice by Jan 12, 2009, when Chief Justice Kay McFarland retires. Will Gov. Sebelius appoint a judge, or a donor to her campaign and Barack Obama, to be the next Supreme Court justice?
In October only eight Kansas attorneys applied for consideration to fill the vacancy [...]
Today the Kansas Supreme Court issued a ruling in a long-running case of Planned Parenthood against Phill Kline. The Kansas press seems to miss how bizarre this case is, which was summarized in this brief:
This Court should be under no illusions about what Petitioner [Planned Parenthood] is asking of it. Petitioner, a criminal defendant in [...]
Continue reading about Kansas Chief Justice admonishes fellow justices for denigrating Phill Kline
Kansas law is quite peculiar in letting out-of-state PACs have fewer reporting requirements than in-state PACs. Out-of-state groups are allowed to spend huge amounts on Kansas politics and not have their “verified statements” shown online. There is no online list of out-of-state PACs that get to hide their political participation in Kansas’ elections. As [...]
Continue reading about Over $500,000 missing from online PAC reports in Kansas
Kansas conflict of interest statutes require many involved with state government to file Statements of Substantial Interest (SSI) forms once a year at the end of April. In state fiscal year 2008 there were 9225 individuals required to file, yet about 120 individuals have not yet filed the required report. Most of [...]
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Today’s meeting of the Kansas Governmental Ethics Commission included two civil fine hearings, as well as a number of civil fine assessments, and decisions about recent missing “Paid for by” attributions.
The big story was the $2500 fine levied on the ProKanDo PAC, the the $500 fine on a Sheriff candidate.
Continue reading about Ethics Commission Fines Candidate $500 and PAC $2500
George Brett is being used by the group Justice, Not Politics! to “Vote No on Question 1″ on the Johnson County ballot initiative in Tuesday’s election. Brett can be heard in radio ads comparing judges in the court to umpires on the baseball field. Brett opposed the election of judges.
But how [...]
Continue reading about Will George Brett vote “No” on Question 1 in JoCo?